Here's a bearded Keanu Reeves grocery shopping in West Hollywood earlier this week (left) -- and Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump in 1994 (right).One of them isn't the sharpest shrimp on the boat.We're just sayin'. ...
Mary Decker was favored to win the gold medal in the 3000 meter final at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games for the USA, until she tripped on barefoot South African runner Zola Budd and fell. Guess what she looks like now! ...
UPDATE: Cops tell TMZ alcohol was NOT a factor in the crash. We're told cops interviewed Phelps after the accident and determined that a field sobriety test was not necessary.We're told Michael refused medical treatment and left in a "personal ...
Dr. Conrad Murray says he didn't have a clue about Michael Jackson's "very unusual problems" when he signed on to be his doc.Murray, through his lawyer's publicist, told CNN Dr. Murray didn't know what drugs Jackson was taking or whether he was ...
Let the booing begin -- Michael Vick has officially been signed by an NFL team. Vick's agent told ESPN the quarterback/canine's worst nightmare just signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.Details of the deal have yet to be released, but ...
We've obtained the search warrant used to raid the Las Vegas pharmacy that Dr. Conrad Murray has used in the past, and there appears to be a direct link between the doctor and Propofol ... and there may be a link to Michael Jackson as well.The ...
We just got off the phone with Hospira Inc., one of the Propofol manufacturers mentioned in the Las Vegas warrant used to search a pharmacy connected to Dr. Conrad Murray.It appears law enforcement believes Hospira manufactured one of the bottles of ...
Some of Michael Jackson's memorabilia is missing and the cops are on the case.Jackson was in a prolonged legal dispute with a guy named Henry Vaccaro, who got a judgment against the singer in the 90s that Jackson never paid. Vaccaro ended up with a ...
Now this is just impressive: Last night outside Katsuya, famously hot-headed chef Gordon Ramsay managed to insult a female photog's "fat tummy" and Shaquille O'Neal ... in 20 seconds flat.... a new record. More Gordon Ramsay Ramsay Catches Hell ...
Drenched in her own filth, Alanis Morissette exercised her 35-year-old bones in Santa Monica on Wednesday.Fourteen years after "Jagged Little Pill" came out, Alanis is still finding ways to work it out. See Also Alanis -- From Angry Rocker to ...
Only separated by a thin pane of glass -- and millions of dollars in the bank -- Harrison Ford and Helen Hunt didn't notice as they sat two feet from each other yesterday at Le Pain Quotidien in Brentwood.Paris was right -- stars are blind. More ...
Today is the last day you'll be seeing the late, great Billy Mays endorse health insurance -- the company behind one of the legendary pitchman's most recent commercials has officially pulled the spot off the air.Billy claimed his work for the iCAN ...
While on a cute little motor boat in Italy today, George Clooney steered directly into his lady friend Elisabetta Canalis.George appreciates a fine vessel. More George Clooney Clooney & GF -- Elisabetta Hang On Tight ...
And now, one minute of hotness ... with today's special guest, model/Jen Aniston & Cameron Diaz ex/former boxer Paul Sculfor.He doesn't do or say anything mind blowing -- he's just pretty to look at. More Jennifer Aniston Diaz Locks Up Aniston's ...
Jesse James could've been a dead man yesterday afternoon when the train he was riding in collided with a semi-truck hauling a load of tomatoes. Jesse and his 11-year-old son were among 279 passengers on the choo-choo as it rolled through Monterey ...
ABC News -- the organization Roone Arledge and Peter Jennings built -- has turned into a bad version of US Weekly ... wussing out during an interview with Mel Gibson's baby mama.Oksana Grigorieva, the chick who got knocked up by Mel, was on "GMA" ...
4'3" Emmanuel Lewis is a little guy with some bigtime game -- and last night at Pure at Caesars Palace, he was bumpin', grindin' and livin' it up like a kid in a candy store. A really hot candy store. See Also "The Little Couple" in the Big Apple ...
Um ... so, one of the big wigs at Sports Illustrated just Twitter-posted some of her personal candid photos of Bar Refaeli from the 2010 Swimsuit Edition shoot ... and they're friggin' ridiculous....Bar -- who recently broke up with Leonardo DiCaprio ...
Michael Vick's days as quarterback might be over -- because last night in Virginia, the former dogfighting Atlanta Falcon told our Fantasy Football playin' photog to mark him down as a "tight end."Ironically, that was also his nickname in ...
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- aka Mayor Suave -- was snapped with GF Lu Parker at the topless pool at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas this past Monday.Antonio's lady -- who you may know as the KTLA TV weekend news anchor -- didn't blow her ...
The only thing X-rated about Heidi Montag's upcoming Playboy spread is the X-pletive you're going to scream when you realize she's not naked in any of the SIX PAGES of photos.Sources close to the barely PG-rated photo shoot tell TMZ, the magazine was ...
The pharmacy that was raided in Las Vegas Tuesday has something in common with Dr. Conrad Murray -- both apparently have had money problems.We've pulled documents showing Applied Pharmacy Services, LLC was sued by the owners of the building it ...
The woman who's allegedly stalking Slash and Steven Adler found a clever way of recycling her restraining order -- cops say she wrote a bunch of crazy stuff on the back of the documents and mailed them to Adler's lawyer! Lisa Jill-Martin Cahn was ...
No need to call a doctor, but Michael Jackson is about to be remade again ... but this time by John Mayer, Lionel Richie and Whitney Houston.Usher, Dionne Warwick, Wyclef and Jermaine Jackson are joining Mayer, Richie and Houston in recording a ...
Heather Mills has taken something else besides Paul McCartney's millions ... Kate Gosselin's frosted, bi-level, reverse mullet raccoon weave.Can you say "blunt cuts" ten times fast?We're just sayin'. See Also Kat Von D: Dead or Alive?! ...
Further proof Britney Spears was completely sane during her frantic shopping spree Tuesday afternoon -- she spent nearly $3,000 in 15 minutes!!!!We're told some of the items Brit Brit bought at the Vionnet Boutique in Beverly Hills were... -- $175 ...
Reggie Miller is great for business -- just ask the company that flew the plane with the "Reggie Miller Stop Pursuing Married Woman" banner down the Pacific coast this past weekend.Arnold Aerial Advertising is now using the Miller gimmick to their ...
Corsair, who seem to spend all their time finding speed records and then breaking them, announced their Flash Voyager GT USB flash drive at the droolworthy 128GB capacity. Even better, the speeds totally don't suck: 32MB/s and 25.6MB/s read/write, respectively.
The first 128GB USB flash drive we say, the Kingston Datatraveler 200, was mostly a proof of concept, with relatively slow read/write speeds of 20/10MB/s. It was also prohibitively expensive at nearly $550. Corsair's drive has the speed to be really enviable, and it comes in even cheaper than the Kingston drive. Note, however, that we didn't say it's affordable, at all—Newegg is selling it for $400. Still, it's pretty great to be able to carry around even a massive music collection in the change pocket of your jeans. [Corsair]
Google Chromium 4.0, the pre-alpha version of Chrome, may still be buggy and crashy as all hell, but it's also incredibly fast, according to benchmarks: 34% faster than Safari, for one, and more than twice as fast as Firefox.
These numbers are based on Javascript benchmarks, which don't give a total view of a browser's speed but do tell us how adept a browser is at dealing with intensive code. Chromium scored 657ms on the test to Safari's 886ms. Firefox scored 1,508ms and Opera 10 Beta 3 (my personal browser of choice) lagged way behind with 5,958ms. Keeping in mind that Chromium is pre-alpha and thus better seen as a fun dev project than an actual candidate for a primary browser, we're pretty excited. Once Google irons out the bugs and gets some damn extensions, Chrome on Mac is going to be a stiff challenger to Firefox. [CNET]
The gadgets launching today will satisfy everyone from pill poppers to Trek junkies. The new internet enabled GlowCaps will help keep tabs on what drugs need to be taken while the Myvu Crystal EV provides the entertainment in between doses.
• Vitality is launching a new internet enabled version of their GlowCap prescription reminder system. Patients attach the device on to the top of their prescription bottles, and GlowCap will give a light and sound alert when the drugs should be taken. The new GlowCaps connect to an included wireless home system that sends out information to caregivers giving them a detailed log of what medicines have been taken, and if the patient has failed to keep up with a drug regimen; the home system can also determine how many doses are remaining and alert a pharmacy if the patient is running out of medicine. The GlowCap can be purchased for $99. [BusinessWire]
• Myvu is updating it's video eyewear line with the Myvu Crystal EV. The EV boasts a 64" equivalent screen (a 30% upgrade over the original Crystal) shown in full VGA. A new "glance down" feature allows users to see what's going on around them with a simple tilt of the head. In addition to the spec updates, the Crystal EV also has the distinction of being the first eyewear viewer with an Apple iPhone Certification and is a part of the Nokia Forum. You can start living your Geordi La Forge fantasy for $300. [PR Newswire]
Of all the funny things Google Street View cars have captured, stopping by In-N-Out for lunch is probably the most delicious. Oh and that man/woman peeing on the street. That was pretty delicious too. [Google via Digg]
Is there a solar shower in this image somewhere? My eyes are inexplicably drawn to the right.
Seriously though, somewhere in this image is an outdoor shower that heats water up to 140 degrees in two hours using solar power. Of course, now all you can think about is a cold shower right? Well, the product page will bring you crashing back down with the imagery conjured up by the following line:
"you and your family can take several showers consecutively before the tank needs to reheat."
Pretty tough with that 9mm pistol, aren't you Mr. iPhone shooter? Well you'd better hope it's just a tablet that Apple is announcing around September 7th and not a 100-foot robot with laser turrets. Or your ass is grass. [BuzzFeed]
Who knew David Pogue's consumer insurrection against scummy, minute-hoarding voicemail messages would actually work? Sir David would like to report that most major carriers have at least responded to the campaign, and AT&T is cutting down on message length.
The collected responses provide an interesting glimpse of how each carrier deals with problems, and its customers. Pogue's results:
• AT&T is "actively exploring" how to make its messages shorter, and says that visual voicemail, which will make this issue moot in a few years anyway, is a priority.
• T-Mobile says the issue has their "attention," which is either a promising acknowledgment, or just a statement of an incredibly obvious fact.
• Sprint rightly reminds us that you can turn off extended messages on their service already, and explains how. Thanks, Sprint.
• Verizon would very much like David Pogue to shut his stupid face, please, because he said means things about them on TV Twitter. Everyone else was cool!
You can read the full carrier responses here, but there are two main takeaways here: the campaign is actually working, so, you know, good job everyone; and it's clearly not over yet, until AT&T follows through, T-Mobile clarifies what their "attention" is worth, and Verizon cools down a little bit. A reminder:
Verizon: Post a complaint here. AT&T: Send e-mail to Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations. Sprint: Post a complaint here. T-Mobile: Post a complaint here.
Prepare to share your naughty bits, boring landscape panning scenes, and most embarrassing moments, because Qik is available for the iPhone 3GS, allowing you to share video using email, SMS, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, among many others. [iTunes via Qik]
Whether you enjoy the music or not, just about every gadget fan can appreciate AerialPan's custom Panasonic HVX UAV mount. The mind wobbles at the glorious visual possibilities. Updated
So, this is actually happening: the LAPD is currently locked in a standoff with a guy implicated in "threats" against the White House, and they're sending a robot in as a negotiating tool. 2009? Pretty weird!
The standoff follows a "wild" freeway chase led by a young fellow who is wanted "as part of a federal inquiry into threats against the White House," which doesn't sound like the kind of thing you really want to be wanted for—hence, you know, the running from police.
Anyway: the bomb squad's robot has been conscripted to try to "coax the suspect out of the vehicle," possibly bringing him a cellphone and giving the police clues as to who might be in the car with him. This is pretty surreal, but I'd imagine this kind of thing—the use of robots in law enforcement, not dudes who don't like Barack Obama getting into protracted car chases—will be a common sight before too long. Good luck, fellas! (and you too, Johnny 5!)
A survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that the US, Canada and Spain pay considerably more for cellphone service than dozens of other nations. Of course, the carriers were quick to spin the findings.
" On average, the OECD found that Americans pay $635.85 on cell phone service, compared to $131.44 per year in the Netherlands or $137.94 per year in Sweden."
As you might expect, the wireless industry issued a press release proclaiming the study was based on "flawed assumptions" that "just don't make sense." If you look at the data the way carriers would like, you're getting quite the bargain. The CTIA does have a point that the OECD's usage categories seem low — particularly when it comes to MMS use. Another reason U.S. prices seem high? Carriers charge a hell of a lot of money for service. They also spend millions on lobbyists who tirelessly work to eliminate consumer protections and price controls.
It does appear that OECD's findings are inflated—after all, the three countries mentioned on this list have bigger appetites for wireless technologies and services. Still, I have little doubt that carriers are sticking ti to us in one form or another. [DSLReports via Consumerist]
Les Paul, the legendary inventor behind the birth of rock n' roll, died today of complications from pneumonia at the age of 94.
During his long tenure on this planet, Les Paul was something like the Thomas Edison of music—he is responsible for such groundbreaking inventions as multitrack recording, overdubbing, delay effects and, of course, the solid-body electric guitar. His work eventually earned him induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.
Few names conjure up as much respect in an industry as Les Paul, and that doesn't appear likely to change anytime in the near future. Nearly all of the musicians and music lovers around today owe a tremendous debt to this man. [Yahoo]
Yes, it's a dumbphone, but it's a dumbphone with ideals. The Samsung Reclaim is as much an environmental statement as it is a slide-out QWERTY messaging phone.
The first thing you'll notice about Sprint/Samsung's $50 green blue handset is its size—it's adorably small and pebble-like when it's closed. Actually wait, no, the first thing you'll notice is the packaging. Remember all that talk about minimizing cardboard waste, and not including a manual? This is what we got: To be fair to Samsung, the packaging is apparently recyclable and made with "soy-based" ink, and I'm pretty sure that notebook full of paper was just an ill-advised PR gift, but even so, they didn't exactly go all the way with this. (Thanks to tipster Shiron for inspiration!) Anyway, minor quibble, back to the phone. This Pre-shaped texter runs a proprietary in-house OS, which, aside from slight input lag, is par for the course for its category—you know, not-so-hot on the browser front, but it gets phone'n'text duties done just fine. and texting comes fast and easy on the rubberized keyboard. An no, no part of this phone feels like it's made from corn, even if it is.
We've been thinking about how to review this thing, and we're not sure. Do we treat it as a feature phone with environmental tendencies, or an exercise in environmentalism with feature phone tendencies? Mark says we should bury it for a few months and see if it biodegrades; I say we should break it down and make cornbread. Any ideas? [Samsung]
What can we conclude from this photo, shot Tuesday, August 11? One, Steve Jobs is back driving himself to work, and two, he still hasn't given up parking in handicapped spots. Maybe now he's there legally? [Flickr via Gearfuse]
I have the feeling that DS Sys—a Nintendo DS emulator—is not going to last long at the iTunes App Store. Not because it can play DS games—it can't—but because it looks and acts exactly like a Nintendo DS.
As you can see in the video, the application emulates a Nintendo DS system screen. In fact, it features a real Nintendo DS in three dimensions. You can change the case color, you can change the "game card"—although there's no option to load Nintendo DS ROMs, so I guess it's just a simulation—and it plays a couple of games. They claim that future versions will support "more game cards" and the microphone.
It seems just like a cool gimmicky app, but I'm as surprised as you are. You can get it for $4.99 while it lasts. [iTunes—Thanks MarkGurman.com]
Laird Hamilton is as tech savvy as surfers get. Here he discusses his part in pioneering the latest surfing techniques, such as jet-ski tow-in surfing, hydrofoil boards and kite boarding:
I've been involved in the conception of a few different activities or disciplines of surfing, however you want to describe them: Foil boarding, kite-surfing, stand-up paddling most recently, and then of course tow-in surfing, which kind of allows us to ride some of the biggest waves in the world.
Stand-Up Paddling
I don't describe them as inventions, but really as a combination of a couple things that together created a new thing, a form of invention I guess, but we're never going to take credit for something that existed in some form before, that somebody else may have done.
Tow-In Surfing I just think we were the first people to realize that you needed a motorized vessel to give you the speed in order to catch waves that are beyond 50 to 60 foot faces. They move at 30 or 40 miles an hour and manually you're just unable to match the speed and the timing it takes to ride one. That's really where tow-in surfing came from—a necessity.
We were able to catch these giant waves with a wind surfer and ride them unlike when we were surfing. Then we had foot straps. We already had a relationship with riding these outer-reef breaks in real rugged conditions that you just couldn't get to by laying on your stomach, paddling around.
And once we realized it, we were able to do it. And we started with a Zodiac boat and an outboard. That was obviously a little fragile and dangerous, so then, eventually, came the jet-skis. I think the first Yamaha sit down jet skis came out—the Wave Runner helped us evolve. Driving a Zodiac around in 30 foot surf is a lot trickier than getting on a Wave Runner. If the Zodiac gets tipped by a wave, you're over, whereas the jet-ski doesn't do well but it can survive.
I describe it like the four-minute mile. Once the guy broke the four-minute mile, then 30 guys broke the four-minute mile, but before that it was this invisible barrier. That's a little bit like what's happened with tow surfing.
Hydrofoil Surfing As for the hydrofoil surfing, what we've found is that the foil board is probably the single most efficient wave riding instrument that we know of today. The reason why we say that—and the reason why we know that—is because you can ride waves that don't break.
Now we have a thing that we can use on a day when we wouldn't be able to ride the waves on anything except maybe a jet ski or some sort of power boat. We get on them by being towed, and we ride these waves for miles and miles at a time. By eliminating surface texture and tension, resulting in less friction, we created the ability to ride waves that don't break—to surf waves that were really unsurfable. Now we can ride a ground swell in the middle of the ocean.
We've also done it with the kite, but then you're obviously not going to let go of the kite—as you would a tow line—so then you're kiting-foiling instead of just foil surfing.
Kite Boarding We were involved with the conception of kite boarding as well. Not the first people to ever kite obviously, since they've been around for thousands of years, but we were first guys really to start, because we had these big wave boards with foot straps—the perfect setup for being towed by a kite. We had these kites that you get launched, but if your kite crashed you were done. If you were a mile out in the ocean and your kite crashed, you now had yourself a giant bed sheet and a small little board.
Inflatable kites really created kite boarding. We were able to get those from a French guy who had invented a blow-up kite and a blow-up little catamaran—you could have a backpack and go hike and launch your blowup catamaran and your blowup kite and go and sail around with it. We got a hold of one of those little blowup kites and then one thing happened after another, then kite surfing or kite boarding was really born. Since then, it's been just a matter of evolution.
Laird Hamilton has been a surfing hero since the 1980s, solidifying his reputation as the king of big wave surfing when he conquered Tahiti's Teahupo'o Reef at its most perilous in August 2000. As an innovator, he pioneered many new activities including kitesurfing, tow-in surfing and hydrofoil boarding. He's on the board of directors at H2O Audio, makers of pro-level waterproof iPhone and iPod cases, and has his own signature line of Surge waterproof earphones, proceeds of which are donated to the Beautiful Son foundation for autism education.
John Gruber at Daring Fireball seems to be sure about the size and prices of the new iPod touch. In a post commenting on the new Zune HD, he gives all the details, and confirms the camera.
The Zune HD prices look good compared to today's iPod Touches, but not so much compared to the new camera-equipped ones Apple is set to announce next month (16/32/64 GB for $199/299/399).
Same price, double the size, and photos. Not bad at all. [Daring Fireball]
What kinds of videos will you be able to play on that luscious OLED screen? And for how long? Your answers: not that many, and for a qualified "up to" four hours. UPDATE: The spec sheet was incorrect, in a good way.
To be fair to Microsoft, iPod video format support is pretty horribly limited, but wide codec compatibility would've been something of a coup for the the Zune HD. As it stands, here's what it can handle:
Windows Media Video (WMV) (.wmv) – Main and Simple Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 3.0 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD WMV files at device sync. MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) (.mp4) Part 2 video3– Simple Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD MPEG-4 files at device sync. H.264 video – Baseline Profile up to 2.5 Mbps peak video bit rate; 720 pixels x 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second (or 720 pixels x 576 pixels up to 25 frames per second). Zune software will transcode HD H.264 files at device sync. DVR-MS4 – Zune software will transcode at time of sync.
720p playback will only come by means of an external dock connector—not that the 480 x 272 screen could display it anyway, or that it would matter on a device this size. In any case, this is fine—transcoding video is something we're used to for portable devices, and past Zune software has been serviceable. About that battery life, though:
Music, up to 24 hours (wireless off); video, up to 4 hours* (They've since changed this—see below)
24 hours is plenty for music playback, though it's well under the iPod Touch's (admittedly inflated) 36h claim, and we'll have to see how well the battery holds up during radio playback and, most importantly, web browsing. The video figure is concerning though, not just because it's kinda low, but because that asterisk points down to "320 x 240 WMV9 500 Kbps" video—well below that maximum possible playback quality. Is Tegra a little bit of a battery hog?
UPDATE: Microsoft has come out and said their spec page was incorrect—the real figures are 33 hours of music playback and 8.5 hours of video—better than the iPod Touch on both fronts. As you were! [Microsoft via Engadget]
Gadgets stands are usually begrudging buys: If your gadget needs a stand, it probably should've come with one; if it could just sorta use one, it's hard to justify the cost. The solution? Make your own damn stand, for nothing.
Gadgets stands, from iPods and ebook readers to HDTVs and laptops, are some of the most accessible DIY projects out there—no circuit diagrams, static bracelets or soldering irons here, just cheap, useful, approachable projects. Here are a few of the best.
The cardboard box: Download the instructions, print them out, cut up a box, and slide it together. Hey presto! Laptop home theater. Bonus feature: it's recyclable.
Laptops
Why you want one: It's easier on your wrists, keeps your notebook cool (especially low-to-the-ground models, like MacBooks), and can give you some space to stow accessories. Taller units make watching TV less painful.
The ring binder: Accomplish all of the above goals with your kid's leftover school supplies, or a $5 trip to Officemax. Poke holes for ventilation, thread various wires to make it more like a full-service laptop dock, and slide peripherals underneath for maximum convenience. Bonus feature: plenty of available ring sizes, binder-stuffing adjusts your viewing angle.
The coat hanger: Like the cardboard box, except with industrial-chic styling, and some semblance of adjustability. It looks a little precarious, but hanger devotees assure us: it's sturdy(ish). Bonus feature: the higher elevation matches well with external monitors.
iPod/iPhone
Why you want one: Aside from often doubling as a charging dock, iPod stands make the hunched-over, arms-out process of video-viewing a little more bearable. With a good Twitter app, news aggregator or music streaming service, or just the native media interface, it can also let you use an iPod Touch or iPhone as a quasi secondary display.
The binder clip: Devised for older iPods, the binder clip is timeless, unless Apple someday moves away from the dock connector. Bonus feature: if you feel this is too simple, you can make a much more complicated one out of, like, 20 clips.
The paperclip: Just as simple as the binder clip, but in landscape. Plus, you might not have binder clips laying around; you do have paperclips. Bonus feature: crudely adjustable.
The business card: You just need a spare business card, a pen, a ruler and the ability to fold paper for this one. Bonus feature: It's utterly disposable.
The Kindle
Why you want one: For reading?
The bedhead: Designed by the dude behind XKCD, this twisted coat hanger is for reading while lying down, sideways. Bonus feature: there's a page-turn lever built in.
The Bookend: Book accessories past a future, living together in peace. This hardly qualifies as DIY, actually, since you're just bending a metal bookend a little bit. Bonus feature: it's probably tougher than your Kindle.
HDTVs
Why you want one: Because a having TV stand or mount is a given, and they universally cost too much.
The Easel: It should go without saying: get a strong easel for this one, not some flimsy elementary school toss-out. But it's clever, for smaller sets, and adjustable. Craigslist is your friend on this one.
The Diner Table: A little more involved than the easel hack, but much more gratifying. Discarded restaurant tables+crappy old desks and/or coffee tables=a fun afternoon of beginner-level woodworking and a place for your HDTV to live, in (some kind of) style. Bonus feature: may smell like bacon, or cigarette smoke.
A streamlined son to Dealzmodo Hacks, Hackmodo is a weekly guide to getting your hands dirty, tech-style, and hopefully saving a few bucks. If you've got any hacks or tricks you'd like to see featured here, let us know.
If you can take time off from work, jetBlue is offering customers a one-month unlimited pass for air travel—this could be the perfect excuse for your band of Merry Pranksters to explore the US.
You remember the hybrid Corvette Stingray concept, Sideswipe, from Transformers 2? Jalopnik got a chance to test drive it. Verdict? It's really from the future. [Jalopnik]
I have a very wet dream: Tote around an Apple tablet. Subway trains, beds, airplanes, toilets, cafes, bath, restaurants, offices, conventions... everywhere. How do you imagine it fitting in your life? Show it to everyone with an image. Here's how:
• Make or find a photo(s) that gives you the proper setting. Optionally, you may include someone using the tablet in the way you imagine it. To help you in the composition later, use a 10-inch long—in diagonal—envelope or paper notebook in the actual shot.
• Open both the photo and the mock-up in Photoshop.
• Paste the mock-up in the image you took.
• Go to the Edit menu, select "Transform > Warp."
• You will see a square appearing over the mock-up. Move the corners to match the 10-inch fake object, so the perspective is perfect. Then erase the background, clone, and mask as needed.
Of course, the images don't have to be 100% fanboy serious. It's open to everyone, believers or jesters. Just use your imagination, and send the result to contests@gizmodo.com with "Apple tablet in my life" in the subject line.
With his revenue finally dried up, he could no longer support the massive drug habit he developed over the last two years as a means of coping with his demons. This final injustice was simply more than Clippy could stand. Although, it's hard to feel sorry for him because he just sucked so...so much. [Tonight Show]
There is no lower form of photography than the arm-out self-portrait, but we all do it anyway. To their credit, Samsung's TL220 and TL225 make shooting your Facebook profile shot a little easier.
Ignoring the screen for a second, the TL22x cameras are a decent get for the price, with 720p video recording, haptic touchscreens (though the interface isn't terribly intuitive or responsive), and a full range of expected features for a midrange point and shoot. The only noticeable differences between the TL220 and TL225, which will ship at $299 and $349, respectively, are the 225's aluminum body, larger screen and HDMI output. But anyway, the screen's the thing people are curious about here, so here you go. As you can see, it's there. When the camera is off, you can't see it—it goes black, and sits flush and invisible against an equally black camera face, at least on the test unit I saw. You turn it on with a direct tap of the finger, which I repeatedly had trouble getting to register, though I was told that was due to the fact that my test unit was a preproduction model. I'll trust Sammy on this one, but a simple toggle button would've done fine.
The screen isn't just for self-shooting, although it manages that just fine. It'll also show playful images to get childrens' and/or idiots' attention. In the case of the default clown animation, "playful" means "disconcerting," a fact which isn't help by how difficult it is to navigate the menus to make him go away. No worries though: You'll be able to download more animations from Samsung's website, apparently.
Another simple function is a countdown timer, which gives you a numerical countdown to timed shots, letting you know exactly when to mug for tripod group shots.
At any rate, your first intuition was probably correct: front-facing LCDs are somewhat gimmicky, but they do what they say, making life easier for the internet-popular or extremely lonely. The catch would've been that the feature prices the cameras out of mainstream accessibility, but it doesn't. So hey, why not? (This, I think, was Samsung's design mantra here.) [Samsung]
MSI's new C-Series laptops start at $550, feature 16 or 17-inch screens, and measure a reasonable 1.18 inches thick.
You can read the stats of the entire line of laptops above (click on that image to see a larger pop-out version), but they reach a balance of power to price to size that's pretty palatable on paper. We're just wondering what MSI's Color Film Print laptop finish, "which creates vivid designs when the unique surface interacts with ambient light," looks like in person.
A few high level music industry sources are saying that Apple's next event will be September 7, focused (logically) on music, which means iPods.
September is the normal time for new iPods to be released, so the question remains whether it's going to be a purely iPod and iTunes—including iTunes 9—announcement, or if the Apple Tablet will make an appearance. My guess is the former. [All Things D]
Speaking as a guy who rarely goes outside, this concept would be very much the same as a regular phone, but it is a neat looking flexible device that doubles as a watch when not in use.
It's by Seungkyun Woo & Junyi Heo, and wraps around your arm in the normal state, soaking up solar power to keep it going longer. It's kind of a genius idea to stick solar onto everything in the future, or even a combination of solar and kinetic charging. [Yanko Design]
Today Eric Wilfrid, GM of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit announced a Business Edition of Office for Mac, and promised a new version by holiday 2010 that would include a bonafide Outlook for Mac. There was no Office for iPhone news.
Yes, when the press conference was called, there was some speculation that we'd hear about an Office app for the iPhone, but alas, such was not the case. The first order of business was a streamlining of the current Office for Mac lineup into two editions, the Home and Student version currently on shelves, and the Business Edition ($399 full; $239 upgrade; available Sept. 15), which has, in addition to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, the new connected applications, Entourage Web Services Edition and Microsoft Document Connection. See what details there are here:
The more exciting news for Office devotees, however, was that Microsoft was building a true version of Outlook that could be as powerful as the Windows version of Outlook, but built on Cocoa to run smoothly and seamlessly in the Mac OS. No more second-class citizen Entourage—full Outlook is on its way.
Me, I still want to muck around with Excel spreadsheets on an iPhone, but oh well. [Mactopia]
Despite the rumors, I never fully believed the Apple tablet was real, until I heard these words over my phone: "Hey, it's [redacted]. I may or may not have sat in some Apple meetings for the tablet."
I was driving, and swerved a little bit, even though both hands were on the wheel. Someone honked at me.
"What was that?"
They repeated themselves.
I switched on Bluetooth and pulled over to the side of the road to hear the story. You see, earlier in the day I'd given my phone number out to someone who sent me a cryptic email wanting to talk Apple. This must have been them. (Later on I verified to a high level of certainty that they were in the position to have access to the information and after talking to them for over an hour, I believe them to the same level of certainty.)
"The device, which I've held mock ups of, is going to have a 10 inch screen, and when I saw it looked just like a giant iPhone, with a black back— although that design could change at any time" they said, "with the same black resin back, and the familiar home button." That's obvious.
"But it will come in two editions, one with a webcam and one for educational use."
Educational use?
They continued to explain the device as something that would sit between an iPod/iPhone and a MacBook, and would cost $700 to $900—"More than twice as much as a netbook," he said.
To make up for that cost and make the device more than just a big iPod there was, this person claimed, there was talk of making the device act as a secondary screen/touchpad for iMacs and MacBooks, much like a few of the USB screens that have come out in recent months from Chinese companies. Very interesting.
They went on to say that although the project has been going on under various names between four and six years, the first prototype was built around the end of 2008. Adding, "The time to market from first prototype is generally 6-9 months." That would place the device's release date in this holiday season. They then said, "There was a question of what OS the device would run, too." (Other people I've talked to have implied this remains a huge secret.)
My call dropped on some windy road off Skyline Drive. Fucking AT&T.
Later, I asked, was there a code name for the project?
"Yes...[redacted]."
I thought about it for a second, googled the term, and it all made sense.
"Don't publish that name, please," they requested.
This diminutive photo was grabbed off a pre-order email that went out to Zune fans this morning. The colors available are red, green, blue, platinum, and black. [Thanks tipsters!]
Samsung has introduced what they are calling the world's "first multi-wireless compact camera" in the 12.2 MP ST1000. In addition to it's 3.5" touch screen LCD, the ST1000 features WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS geotagging built-in.
Other features include a 5x zoom, HD video recording (1280x720p), ISO 4800 sensitivity and a Smart Gesture UI that allows you to access key functionality with a simple tap or hand gesture. Plus, that UI should be pretty crisp on a 3.5" LCD that packs in an industry-leading 1,152k pixels.
An exact price and release date has yet to be announced, but rumors over the last few days have put this all-in-one camera around the $600 mark. The good news is that for a fraction of that cost you could add much of this wireless functionality to an existing camera with an Eye-Fi SD card. [DPReview]
While snorkeling in the Virgin Islands, I trailed a sea turtle for about 5 minutes I'll never forget. If only I had a Canon 5D Mark II and scuba gear, used here, I could share that memory with you.
In the words of our own Brian Lam, "Put the video in HD and get ready to fucking vomit from the beauty." I'd recommend ditching your normal YouTube ADD and letting nature unfold its narrative at an organic pace.
If you regret the 2:37 when the clip is done, well, I'll can owe you or something. But keep in mind that you probably have no soul.
I love NYC to bits. But when I see the millions of people shifting in and out Manhattan in a pretty pretty graphic like this, I feel vertigo. And then, when I see the subway statistics, I feel panic:
From 8:00AM to 8:59 AM on an average Fall day in 2007 the NYC Subway carried 388,802 passengers into the CBD [city business district] on 370 trains over 22 tracks. In other words, a train carrying 1,050 people crossed into the CBD every 6 seconds.
Absolutely mindblowing. Now, off I go to get a bagel. [Frumination—Thanks David]
The Q700 looks like a nettop, but has a little more balls thanks to a 2.5GHz Pentium Dual-Core E5200. Top specs include a TV tuner, HDMI, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard disk, and Intel GMA X4500 graphics. Prices start from $499.
About the size of a DVD player, the compact HTPC sits either horizontally or vertically (with stand), and has a metal liner to shield against electromagnetic radiation. Lenovo also says it'll support 1080p.
On the front you'll find a slot-loading DVD writer, four-in-one media card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro), four USB 2.0 ports, plus microphone and headphone jacks.
One the back: eSATA and HDMI connections (nice!), VGA, four further USB 2.0 ports, and a variety of audio connections, including S/PDIF-out. Ethernet is standard, while options include 802.11g Wi-Fi, the TV tuner, and various flavors of Windows Vista. [Lenovo via Nexus404]
Hey, it may not be a projector, but the 1.5-inch secondary LCD on these 12.2Mp point-and-shoots is pretty unique. Tap it and frame self-portraits, or play animations to capture kid's attention (and terrorize those with a fear of clowns).
The cameras have a 4.6x optical zoom, 720p-quality video recording, SDHC support, and have "Smart Gestures"—perform tasks by drawing on their touchscreens with your finger. The TL225 has a 3.5-inch (1,152k resolution) main screen; the TL220's display is 3-inch (230k).
Pricing hasn't been released, but the cameras are initially expected to launch in Singapore later this month, as ST500 and ST550. Apparently a Samsung presser in NY later today should reveal more details on U.S. availability. [CNet Asia]
Update: The prices are going to be $300 and $350 for the TL220 and TL225, respectively. Both launch in September.
OK, now we get it, Sony. The free Batcave included with Batman: Arkham Asylum will make the digital dryhumping fest infinitely more tolerable...unless Val Kilmer and George Clooney show up. [joystiq]
Clickfree is a company making some interesting and simple USB-based backup products, and their latest Transformer for iPod/iPhone may be the most clever yet.
Their theory is that you have a lot of unused space on your iProduct. You can just connect your iPod to your PC or Mac through their $50 cord, and it will load integrated software to automatically backup selected files.
They promise to only utilize the unused space on the device, leaving all of your music and contacts safe.
The other, not so advertised function, is that the Clickfree allows you to download any MP3s off an iPod to a computer and one-button transfer them into iTunes.
Vista, XP and OS X compatible, the Clickfree is available now, as mentioned above, for $50. [Clickfree via Engadget]
Earlier this morning we confirmed that the Zune HD will launch September 15 for $220 (16GB) and $290 (32GB). Now we know that the Zune HD AV Dock costs $90, and the Zune HD AV Power Pack is $50.
• $89.99 This all-in-one package enables your Zune HD player to charge sync and play supported 720p HD videos on your HDTV. Send music and HD Radio reception to your home audio system and control it all via a wireless remote.
Includes dock, three inserts (one for each Zune model), wireless remote, AC adapter, HDMI cable, and AV output cable. Zune HD player sold separately.
Compatible with: Zune HD (32 & 16), Zune 120, Zune 80, Zune 16, Zune 8, and Zune 4.
• $49.99 Connect your AV cable to your docked Zune HD to play music, HD Radio, and audio podcasts through your home audio system. The HDMI cable connects your docked Zune HD to HDTVs to view movies and videos. (Zune HD player required for HD video and HD Radio reception; sold separately. Zune HD AV Dock sold separately.)
Includes AC adapter, HDMI cable, and AV output cable.
Variety reports that Warner Brothers is developing a Lego movie that will be "a family comedy that will mix live action and animation." An "action adventure set in a Lego world."
Let's hope it doesn't put a buzz kill on my childhood memories the way GI Joe and Transformers have.
Dan Lin, who is shepherding Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes" and exec produced the studio's upcoming family film "Shorts," will produce the movie through his Lin Pictures, which is also behind a "Tom and Jerry" film that will put the feuding animated characters in a live-action setting.
These trusty tongs have a built-in sensor that let you monitor your meat's internal temperature on its backlit LCD display. The neat part: they will alarm when your meat is ready, and also double as an LED flashlight. Versalicious!
The $39.98 stainless steel tongs have presets for seven types of meat (along with one custom setting), and require two AAA batteries.
A perfect compliment to some of the grilling gizmos we've covered in the past, no?
A tipster has sent us some shakey-cam photos of what looks to be a 120GB PS3 Slim listed for $299.99 in a Kmart flyer that he says will go out "in a few weeks." Shenanigans? I'm inclined to think so.
True, that's the same price and image used in yesterday's supposed Best Buy PS3 Slim ad mockup, but straight off that bat you'll notice the Best Buy shot lists a 160GB hard disk. Still, one could be accurate, right? I don't think so. My major beef with both: the controller placement looks identical to cakefoo's mockups over at Neogaf.
Oh, and that Hong Kong magazine cover? It turned out to be a fan-made PS3.
What's interesting, is that all these images seem to reference the supposed PS3 Slim spy shots that Engadget Japan received a takedown request for. But maybe that's just because they're the most likely leak we've seen to date?
Either way, there's been a ton of PS3 Slim rumors flying around (see our roundup), but hopefully we'll know more after Sony's presser at Gamescon on August 18. [via thomas3390]
After months of leaks, rumors, and heavy anticipation, Microsoft is officially unveiling the last pieces of the Zune HD puzzle...which were already leaked. Release date is September 15th, but the 16/32GB Zune HD can be pre-ordered today.
So, just like we knew already, the Zune HD will be released September 15th in 16/32GB flavors, at a cost of $220 and $290, respectively. If you pre-order, you'll be able to nab the 16GB in black and the 32GB in platinum, but upon release, there'll be five different colors with 10 new engravings on Zune Originals. Based on the Zune's past, we'd bet those other colors are red, blue, and green (probably no return of the brown, unfortunately).
Microsoft isn't releasing the price of the accessories, like that HD-outputting dock we're all going to want, but luckily the rest of the current Zune lineup's accessories will also work with the Zune HD. The only other new detail is that select Best Buy outlets will have Zune HDs to play with on August 22nd and 23rd, which is good news if you haven't gotten to play with one yet.
So, not much new here, but it's good to see Microsoft is keeping up with the very cool Zune Originals store. Who else is going to have a hard time waiting a whole month? [Zune]
REDMOND, Wash. – Aug. 13, 2009 – Zune HD, the next generation of Microsoft Corp.'s portable digital media player, is available now for pre-order and is set to hit store shelves on Sept. 15. The player, available in 16GB and 32GB capacities, is the first touch-screen Zune and includes powerful playback technology to give you a different way to experience media on the go. Combined with unparalleled PC software and online services such as Zune Pass, Zune provides a rich and meaningful connection to music, videos, podcasts and more.
Pre-order Zune HD in 16GB Black and 32GB Platinum through http://www.zune.net/zunehd from Amazon.com, Best Buy,Walmart and Microsoft. Beginning September 15, at http://www.ZuneOriginals.net, both 16GB and 32GB capacities of Zune HD will be available in five different colors with the option to customize your player with one of 10 new engravings designed by guest artists.
WHAT: With a sleek and stylish design, Zune HD is the first to combine these features:
• Built-in HD Radio™ receiver. Allows you to listen to higher-quality sound than is available from traditional radio channels, as well as access additional programming through HD2 and HD3 multicast channels from many of your favorite local FM radio stations at no extra cost.
• HD video output capabilities. Supports HD video playback from the device through a premium HDMI A/V docking station (sold separately) directly to an HD TV in 720p, making it easy to enjoy better-than-DVD-quality video on your own big screen at home.
• OLED touch screen. Allows you to easily flip through music, movies and other content. The 3.3-inch glass screen and 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution) offer a premium viewing experience.
• Built-in Wi-Fi. Allows for browsing, streaming or downloading new music from Zune Marketplace.
• Internet browser. Full-screen Web browsing, optimized for the multi-touch screen with zoom-in and zoom-out gestures.
• Accessories, at home and on the road. Zune HD and AV Dock charges and syncs players while playing supported 720p HD videos on HDTVs. Play HD Radio, music and podcasts from your Zune HD device through your car stereo using the Zune Premium Car Pack.
WHY: Pre-order now to be one of the first to experience the new Zune HD's advanced design,innovative technology and rich multimedia capabilities powered by the NVIDIA Tegra™ chip ultra low-power HD processor.
PRICING: Zune HD 16GB: $219.99 (estimated retail price); Zune HD 32GB: $289.99 (estimated retail price)
WHEN: Pre-order starting Thursday, Aug. 13. Purchase in stores on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
WHERE ONLINE: http://www.zune.net/zunehd
WHERE IN STORE: Place a pre-order in person at Best Buy beginning August 16. If you want to sneak a peek, visit select stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., areas on August 22 and 23.
Note the strange desktop like environment running iPhone apps floating in independent windows, the safari window that fades in, the neat little iPhone UI elements in each window. Someone on the Macrumors forums claims this is the dev kit. Hate to say it but this is starting to smell good enough to be fresh from an oven in Cupertino. Or at least I want it to be. Some of the things going against this video being anything but a hope are the things people commented on in the earlier, less clear video: a) in the demo of notepad, the iPhone keyboard pops up in only that app's window instead of across the entire screen, taking advantage of none of the existing real estate, and that the entire experience, some said, could have theoretically been recreated by b) using multiple iPhone emulators from the SDK and c) creating dock icons from the iPhone's. That makes sense to me.
Some also believe that this HAS to be fake simply because there is only one way to do a tablet: one app per screen. But the idea that the Tablet is going to be a one app per screen device is not only guess work, but illogical. Why build a bigger screened device only to have it do the exact same thing as a smaller device? You could enrich each app to make use of the extra space , but isn't it easier to allow the Tablet to run multiple instances of mobile apps instead of redesigning gazillions of them for a higher res platform? Otherwise, you're basically talking about a zack morris sized version of the iPhone.
And also, look at how the browser window and the map on the right hand of the desktop are bigger than iPhone sized. Can the emulator do that? I guess someone could have mocked this all up with a bunch of Air apps, though. People can mock up just about anything.
In the end, I am less than even 50% certain here that this is real, but I'm sure as hell not going to dismiss it out of hand. Yet. [Thanks Giz reader MacDaddy901]
A 29 year old from Kasai City, Japan, who doused himself with kerosene, torched his house—yet escaped without injuries—told police he wanted to kill himself because his mother tossed "his valuable Gundam plastic models."
The resulting fire eventually burned down the two-story house, which was about 250 square meters (about 2,700 square feet) and made partially from wood…
His 55 year old mother was also in the house but escaped without injuries."
This whole Apple rumor game has reached a new low point: In addition to the usual morons doing it for kicks, an iPhone software developer has "leaked" a video of Apple's new tablet running their probably craptabulous game:
No excuse. No caveat. No "hahahaha we are so funny note." Just that.
So yes, let's all play a tower defense game, Conniption Entertainment. Here is how: You dress up as a tower and you defend yourself against me and the readers hitting you on the head and ribs using the
A survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that the US, Canada and Spain pay considerably more for cellphone service than dozens of other nations. Of course, the carriers were quick to spin the findings.
John Gruber at Daring Fireball seems to be sure about the size and prices of the new 
Laptops
iPod/iPhone
The Kindle
HDTVs
Clickfree is a company making some 
A 29 year old from Kasai City, Japan, who doused himself with kerosene, torched his house—yet escaped without injuries—told police he wanted to kill himself because his mother tossed "his valuable Gundam plastic models."
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